My aim is to offer insights into some of the more subtle principles underpinning prints. The commentary is based on thirty-eight years of teaching and the prints and other collectables that I am focusing on are those which I have acquired over the years.
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Wednesday, 1 November 2017

“Portrait of Jan Cornelisz. Vermeyen”, c1572, plate 15 in the
series of 23 engraved plates in “Pictorum aliquot celebrium Germaniae
inferioris Effigies”, published by Theodoor Galle (1571–1633), 1572, in
Antwerp. This impression is from the 1694 fourth edition published by D and T
Browne (fl.1694) in London as illustrations to Sebastiano Resta's "The
True Effigies Of The Most Eminent Painters And Other Famous Artists"

“Plate 15: Portrait of Jan Cornelisz. Vermeyen, three-quarter
length, turned to the left, head turned to face the viewer; with moustache and
very long beard, seated and holding a book in his right hand while writing in
it with his left hand, an exotic landscape seen behind him with a group of
figures to right, a man menacing another figure with a sword; fourth state with
an extra numbering of '15' before name; from the fourth edition of
the series used as illustrations to Sebastiano Resta's 'The True Effigies
Of The Most Eminent Painters And Other Famous Artists' (D. and T. Browne:
London, 1694). c.1572"

Condition: crisp and near faultless, well-printed impression with wide
margins in excellent condition for the age of the print (i.e. there are no
tears, abrasions, holes, folds, significant stains—but there is a dot stain on
the upper left and light handling marks on the right—or foxing). This print is
in an extraordinary state of preservation.

I am selling this visually riveting portrait of an artist drawing
in an exotic landscape with a murder occurring beyond his left shoulder for
AU$183 (currently US$140.59/EUR120.85/GBP105.96 at the time of this listing)
including postage and handling to anywhere in the world.

If you are interested in purchasing this psychologically engaging
portrait from the Baroque age, please contact me
(oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make
the payment easy.

This print has been sold

To be honest, when I first saw this portrait of Jan Cornelisz
Vermeyen (aka Jan Mayo; Barbalonga) (c1500–1559), I knew nothing about the
"sitter" other than that he must be Dutch based solely on his name. I was curious to find out why he is shown he
seated drawing with his sketch book resting on his knee in what is clearly not
a Dutch countryside. Well, I now know … or I think that I have found an
explanation for the exotic palm tree and sand dune setting: he was a companion
of Emperor Charles V at the Conquest of Tunis. This also helps to explain the
somewhat gruesome scene of murder/battle featured beyond the artist’s left
shoulder. I guess wars are always horrible and so long as the grim details are
behind your left shoulder all is well in the world when drawing out-of-doors.